Hey Guys,

So I am finally back in NY, but I'll be out of town again starting tomorrow, maybe for a while.  I only got a couple days worth of playing in, and my results were unspectacular.  2009 has been a slow year for me, both in my luck on the tables, and my time spent on them.  I've had a lot going on this year, and I know next year things will be settling down for me, and I'll be able to get back into my normal routine.

I think that, although my results haven't been what they were last year, the fact that I've had a lot more going on in my life has made it very easy to handle.  I've said this before, but when poker is your whole life, and it takes all of your focus, you base a lot of your happiness and self worth on your results.  Putting that much of yourself in the hands of something you can't fully control is risky.  When poker is going badly, your life is going badly.  

It's a strange balance you need to keep.  I've found that everyone who makes it to the top is at one point or another completely obsessed with poker.  I was that way for a few years.  But it's really important to have balance and other aspects of your life that you derive happiness from, for the sake of your poker results, and your personal emotional stability and quality of life.  

As poker players, we think about money all the time, and some of us might even confuse this as our top priority.  It isn't.  At the end of the day, quality of life is what we value.  Maybe the money we make playing poker can add to it.  Maybe for some of us it's a big part right now of what makes us happy.  But don't lose sight of the fact that you can be really happy without it.  And don't focus so much on poker that you let all your other sources of fulfillment and happiness suffer.

I put in way more hours and made substantially more money in 2008 than in 2009, but I have absolutely no regrets.  I'm so happy with my life, my new home, my work on Bluefirepoker, and this has been my best year yet.

This holiday season, take a few days off.  Enjoy your friends and family.

Good luck.

-Phil